Walking into the semester, I wasn’t really sure what I was expecting. But, I’m glad that I selected this FYOS because I learned so much about different types of media from different perspectives. Some of the blog posts that really peaked my interest were the posts about legacy media, social media audits, and the autoethnography because I was able to learn about different types of media as well as analyze my own usage. I’ve never look at how I used my social media because it was just another things that was a part of my life. But after the evaluation, I learned to better make use of my time.

Overall, the entire class was a really good experience. After this class, my interest in Communication Studies has increased so I am considering taking class in this subject.

This class taught me to look more deeply into my own media usage. The assignment where we had to keep track of our media usage for a couple of days really gave me a lot of insight into how I use media. I never really realized how prevalent media is in our world and how often I use it. The media is pretty hard to avoid.

I think that I will continue to look deeper into my usage of media after this class. This class opened my eyes to different sides to media that I did not really think about, like legacy media and handwritten letters. Media is definitely something that everyone needs to be aware of since it is such a big part of our world.

I am currently double majoring in Interior Design and Landscape Architecture, so I decided to look up how media has changed and is used with Interior Design. I first found an article by Forbes, http://www.forbes.com/sites/ajagrawal/2016/01/15/social-media-marketing-for-interior-designers-how-to-do-it-right/#2d5808c938ef, on how interior designers can market themselves on social media. It goes through important steps when trying to brand oneself on social media. It starts with making sure to have a purpose when using social media, like trying to increase brand awareness or establishing credibility or connecting with your audience. The second step talks about picking a platform and realizing what each platform with do for the brand. It says Facebook is the widest used media platform, so it’s a safe bet for any business. It talks about Pinterest being good for sharing visual content and Twitter being a good platform to connect with other designers. The third step explains how to create image-centric content because visuals and photos are essential to any designers social media strategy. The article goes on to talk about various ways and places to get inspiration to help designers start their media brand.

The second article I found is about the five major ways technology has impacted the interior and home design profession, http://www.psfk.com/2014/09/5-ways-technology-impacts-home-interior-design.html. The article first talks about the way technology has bridged the gap between people who could and couldn’t afford a professional interior designer with the creation of online interior design websites. These websites allow people to communicate with designers and are sent links to merchandise that the designer picks out for them. It is all done over the internet using pictures and preference quizzes. The second topic the article covers is the media changed the search and discovery patterns. 40% of consumers look online to find merchandise and the creation on platforms like Pinterest make it easier now than ever before. The third impact of technology is the creation of e-commerce cites. The formation of e-commerce cites has allowed consumers to narrow down products using parameters, such as “fabric” or “price” or “color,” to find the exact product they are looking for. Popular cites like this include, Wayfair, Joss and Main, and “Hayneedle.” The fourth topic is the way technology has improved the shopping experience. It is proven that online catalogs and apps produce purchases that match and exceed those of in-store purchases. The use of new digital features, like 3D overlay and computer generated designs, and the collection of data allows companies to create websites and catalogs that make it fun and more efficient for shoppers to shop online. The fifth impacted talked about is the bridging of online and offline purchases. Companies realized where their customers were looking first and created platforms to make shopping easier for them. It demonstrates the adaptability retailers must have to appeal to the consumers. Apps like Houzz and To The Trade have allowed consumers to find one-of-a-kind items and unique products online while still having a design collaboration with a  professional interior designer.

With wanting to be an interior designer, these articles have opened my eyes to the importance media plays on this profession and how crucial it is to stay relevant with evolving technology.

Honestly, after fourteen years of school, I thought I knew everything about media usage in education. However, I am constantly being introduced to more and more creative ways to use a common phenomenon in school. This year of college, I was introduced to Menti, the interactive polling method that is really convenient in a lecture class. In a class full of 300 people, it’s easy for students to feel lost in a crowd, but Menti allows everyone’s opinions to be heard. A media that I still continue to use in college is Kahoot. This fun game promotes review and learning in a challenging and competitive way. One media in education that I no longer use is Edmodo. Edmodo is the school version of Facebook. Teachers would post homework assignments, support, and handouts and students could comment if they needed help. Additionally, schools are taking to social media to try and be interactive with their students and the community. I still follow my high school’s Twitter account and they do tweet often.

Because Theatre is such a fluid department, we always have to be ready to go with what society is doing next. Therefore, people involved in theatre are incredibly media savvy. There are famous theatres with social media handles. UGA’s University Theatre even had a snapchat filter for one of their shows. Additionally, theatres can use these new media like online polls and using cell phone screens as tickets to sell their shows. Media is and has been a large presence in theatre.

I am currently at UGA studying to be in the business school as a marketing major. Media is extremely important in marketing, and basically what marketing is. The goal is to market your product or business and make it appealing to your audience. Companies will use Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook to get their names out in the world attract their customers, and it’s anything but easy.

According to http://www.forbes.com/sites/jaysondemers/2014/08/11/the-top-10-benefits-of-social-media-marketing/#34ae34082a4d, social media marketing is important for increasing brand recognition, improving brand loyalty, higher conversion rates, higher brand authority, better search engine rankings, richer customer experiences, and improved customer insights.  All of these things can only help market your brand and are why social media marketing is so important today. It ultimately leads to more customers which means more money for your business. According to Hubspot, in 2014, 92% of marketers reported that social media marketing was instrumental for their business, and 80% of these marketers indicated their efforts increased traffic to their websites.

Moving forward with my major, I am going to have to learn the best media sites to market different brands, and how to reach out to my specific audience in order to be successful.

Growing up I have always been fascinated by the business world and specifically the free market economical concept. I would often times trade specific items during lunch in elementary school, and try to sell sports equipment online in middle school. As I matured into high school, I began to have entrepreneurial endeavors. I was not old enough to have my own job, or official business, but I was old enough to do some unofficial business. I saved up money in 9th grade, and bought a power washer to begin a power washing business. My simple business plan consisted of having my dad drive me around in his truck with the power washer in the back. I formulated flyers, that I stuck in everyone’s mailboxes in mine and surrounding neighborhoods. I also sent out mass text messages to neighbors offering my service. This method was widely successful.  After a few years of doing this, my business expanded, and I was washing a driveway just about every day. Who knew I would have been using media to expand a brand in my high school days. Running this miniature mock business combined with a love for exploring has inspired me to declare International Business as my major.

After doing some research on media branding and social media efficiency in the International Business world, I discovered that social media is essential in the business world, regardless of the size or expansion of a business. This site was useful in my discoveries: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/role-social-media-international-branding-68363.html

Businesses around the globe in today’s age can communicate with potential customers with the click of a mouse or the tap of a finger via the internet and social media. Platforms such as Instagram, Google, and LinkedIn allow business to expand their brands in ways never known before. They can cross all sorts of cultural barriers with these mediums. Culture is much less evident on the internet and through media. Language barriers can also be bridged. Technology often allows words to be automatically translated, which in turn widens the scope of a potential social media campaign for a business. In terms of small business, they often times begin on a domestic level. This allows the business model to mature and grow before it takes on the tenure of an International plan. Social Media trends and tendencies are located, and the business has a more well rounded plan of how to tackle their target market.

Overall, social media can be used for a vast array of reasons by a wide spread of people. This ranges from aspiring kids looking to make money, all the way to International corporations looking for profit. This fact will only accelerate as the world modernizes and relies more and more on media to stimulate economies.

I researched the impact of media usage on the field of medicine, particularly in the career of a physician assistant. I found a useful article, written by Anne Dang, which can be found here, that discusses how media impacts this specific career and how it’s changed throughout the years. It stresses that the creation of certain social media sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, have had an impact on medicine by making health accessible to all. Different forms of media such as support forums, physician websites, webinars, and blogs have provided opportunities to access experts and other patients that might not have otherwise been available through more traditional means. This also allows for the sharing of more information, without breaking physician-patient confidentiality. One can use this information to learn from, as this increase in its availability allows for this type of personal and professional learning to take place on a much larger scale.

Anne Dang also gives personal insight on the impact social media has had on her career as a physician assistant. She says, “I have been able to build my network, access educational and mentoring opportunities, as well as garner interest from patients and prospective students about the profession.” Personal and immediate connections to other doctors, nurses, and patients is important in this field, as well as access to other opportunities, such as mentoring, internships, and further research. Media allows for these to be possible, benefitting many people, both physician assistants and those outside of the field as well.